So the patient didn't get a clot while they were in the hospital. Great--so what about after they leave? While most dangerous blood clots happen in the 90 days after a hospital discharge, less than half of patients go home with anti-clotting drugs, according to a new study.
Researchers at McMaster University Medical Center looked at data on patients diagnosed with venous blood clots in 1999, 2001 and 2003 in Worcester, Mass. Their study found 73.7 percent of clots had occurred at home, with 59.1 percent happening in patients who had been hospitalized within the prior three months. Only 59.7 percent of these patients had gotten anti-clotting therapy as inpatients, and less than half were sent home with clot-preventing therapies such as compression stockings, pneumatic compression devices and anticoagulant drugs.
To find out more about this study:
- read this United Press International piece
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